


Strawberries and Cream

by pearlsapphiresnapdragon



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Mild Language, Suggestive language, family gathering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-02
Updated: 2013-08-03
Packaged: 2017-12-22 04:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/908861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearlsapphiresnapdragon/pseuds/pearlsapphiresnapdragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After rescuing Paulina, Danny is invited to a family gathering by her father. During the course of the night he gets to know a side of Paulina she doesn't show at school, a side that he kind of likes. At least, he likes it when she kisses him. Mostly. It also has this minor side effect of making his brain turn to mush.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The weather was gorgeous, Lancer couldn't have picked a better day for a field trip to the lake if he'd actually paid attention to the weatherman (particularly since that same weatherman predicted a torrential downpour of biblical proportions for this weekend). The sky overhead, reflected on the gently lapping waters of the lake, was the perfect balance of fluffy white cloud and forget-me-not blue. And, needless to say, decidedly not stormy. Danny, Sam and Tucker lounged by a section of railing near the middle of the rented, two-tier party boat, talking quietly. Up above them, the popular crowd milled about, talking much less quietly.

           The calm, light-hearted atmosphere of the ride shattered when the boat hit a sandbar and Paulina tumbled overboard. As one, the A-listers shrieked in horror. Not pausing to think, Danny vaulted over the side of the boat. The cries of his classmates cut off abruptly when he hit the water, a muffled hum filling his ears in their place.

           He searched around for Paulina. She was under the boat, struggling and clearly disoriented. A spike of panic shot through him when he realized she was drifting towards the propellers. He kicked frantically, reaching for her. The moment he got his arms around her, Danny violently reversed his course, aided by his ghost powers bleeding over into his human half.

           Seconds later they broke the surface of the water, droplets spraying up into the sky before raining back down around them. Danny heard Paulina suck in a deep, life-greedy breath of air. If he'd had the breath to spare himself, he would have laughed in giddy relief.

           The shore was closer than the boat now. Danny swam towards it, Paulina clinging to him and shivering. Once they gained the shore, he checked her over for injuries. Alarm replaced the momentary elation of having survived; Paulina was hurt, blood welling from where a propeller had nicked her foot.

           His mind threatened to run away into full freak-out mode. Danny tamped down hard on the impulse. He couldn't do that. He didn't have the luxury. Raking a hand through his hair, he focused on helping Paulina. _Put pressure on the wound_ , his subconscious urged. He didn’t have a clue whether it would actually help or not, but he did it anyway. _Now talk to her, Fenton, she's scared_.

           "Paulina! Can you hear me?" He looked away from his red-stained hands, pressing into her flesh. Dazed, she lay back and grimaced.

           "I – I can hear you," she answered. "Danny, it hurts."

           "I know," he said helplessly. In the distance he could hear sirens, probably summoned by Mr. Lancer or one of the other chaperones.

           "I'm s-scared," she said, and now that most of the water had run off the contours of her face, he could see tears pouring down her temples.

           "I know. I am too, but help will be here soon. I can hear an ambulance."

           "Okay," she managed.

           He cast around for something to say, anything that might distract her from the pain and fear while they waited for the paramedics to arrive. "Did you hear about that subway tunnel collapse in Metropolis? It's a good thing Superman was around to help, huh? Without that X-ray vision trick of his, they never would have found half the survivors in time." Danny paused to wish for the thousandth time that he had X-ray vision. How fun would that be? And yeah, useful, but... _pay attention, Danny_. "Jazz was talking about it this morning. She's got a huge crush on Superman." Oops. He probably wasn't supposed to say that.

           Paulina hiccupped. Danny decided to count it as a laugh. "Everyone's got a crush on Superman."

           "You too?"

           She hiccupped again. "No." He didn't think she would say anything else but after a moment, she did. "Who needs Superman when we have Danny Phantom?"

           Maybe it was silly, but Danny was touched. Not often (or ever, really) did he come out of a Man of Steel comparison the winner. He almost thanked her, but luckily his brain caught up to his mouth before the words came out.

           Then, as if to throw him completely off balance, she added, "And Danny Fenton."

           Danny blinked. Surely he hadn't heard that right.

           Before he could formulate a response, the paramedics descended on them, grim and efficient. A couple of them examined Danny as several others lifted Paulina's stretcher into the ambulance. After determining that Danny was unhurt, they released him into the care of the now disembarked Mr. Lancer. A short distance away, the other chaperones, Star's dad and Kwon's mom, herded the rest of the class into the bus waiting to take them back to school. Danny picked Sam and Tucker's worried faces out of the line of teens, all facing him and the ambulance, and sent them a tiny, reassuring wave.

           " _Great Expectations_ , Mr. Fenton, what did you think you were doing?!" Lancer shouted as Danny towelled off.

           "I, uh – I tripped," Danny blurted. He hoped Lancer would buy it. In hindsight jumping off a boat while on a school field trip didn't seem like such a good idea for a guy with a secret as big as his. Which raised a few questions about how much visibility was good for the alter ego of a local superhero and what that meant for said alter ego's (heretofore thwarted but nonetheless enduring) aspirations to popularity…Danny filed those away for later. "It's a good thing I'm a strong swimmer."

           Lancer didn't look the least bit convinced. His eyes bored into Danny's, easily reading the lie written in the way Danny couldn't hold his gaze. "Mr. Fenton, I cannot impress upon you just how lucky you and Ms. Sánchez are to be alive."

           "I'll be more careful from now on, sir."

           Lancer peered at him through narrowed eyes for another moment, until one of the paramedics informed him that they were ready to leave. "Go join your classmates on the bus, Danny. I'll be in touch with your parents."

           "Wait, Mr. Lancer, you're going with Paulina, aren't you?"

           "Yes."

           "Is it alright if I come too?" Danny asked.

***

Danny didn't get to see Paulina until she'd been stitched up and cleared for discharge. The interminable wait before that gave him plenty of time to think, and boy did he have some heavy thinking to do. To start with, this wasn't the first time he'd saved a life, but it was the first time he'd done it as Danny Fenton. Up until this point, he'd managed to keep his 'hero' life and his regular life successfully compartmentalized, at least in his mind. The idea that the line was blurring, that this hero stuff might be deeper set into his psyche than he'd realized, was an unsettling one.

           He thought back to the moment the boat hit the sandbar, knocking Paulina overboard. Combined adrenaline and instinct had sent him hurtling after her, no kind of rational thought involved. He didn't like that. It made him feel like he'd lost control. Someone like him couldn't afford to lose control. It wasn't just his secret at stake; if he screwed up, someone could wind up seriously hurt.

           And speaking of his secret, he wasn't sure exactly how much Paulina or any of the other witnesses knew about what happened. For all he knew, his flimsy "I tripped" story would hold, so long as no one had been paying him too much attention before he went over the side of the boat. In fact, he wouldn't be a bit surprised if it did (these were residents of Amity Park after all). But what about the next time Danny Fenton tripped and a tragedy was averted? And the time after that? How long before people started connecting the “clumsy feat” dots and came up with the right picture? And yet he couldn't very well just stand by and let people go around drowning or otherwise dying when, apparently, there was something he could do about it, even in his human form.

_Ugh._ Danny pressed a hand to his forehead and groaned. Beside him, Mr. Lancer raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Are you feeling alright, Mr. Fenton?"

           "Fine, Mr. Lancer. Just a little bored."

           A small, skeptical noise issued from Mr. Lancer's throat. Not too long after that, the paunchy, middle-aged man fell asleep in his seat.

***

Finally, Paulina's dad wheeled her out to the emergency department waiting room, breaking the flow of Danny's thoughts. When Paulina spotted him, she left her dad at the window filling out paperwork.

           "Danny! Have you been here this whole time?" she asked, beaming up at him from a wheelchair.

           Caught in the spotlight of her smile, Danny's answer came out on the shy side. "Yeah. I wanted to see how you were doing."

           "I have to stay off my foot for a few weeks, but thanks to you, I'm going to be just fine," she declared.

           Danny glanced around nervously. "Um, do you think you could keep your voice down?" he asked.

           "Why would I do that? You saved my life; I can't wait to tell everyone that Danny Fenton's a hero!"

           "Shhhhhh!" Danny flapped his arms frantically. "Do you want the whole hospital to hear?"

           "Duh," said Paulina. "It's phase one of my plan to make you popular."

           What color he had drained from Danny's face. "No!" he said, panicking. "I mean, it's a nice thought, but I'd rather keep what happened between you and me."

           "Why?" she asked, genuinely bewildered that he was turning down her offer of popularity.

           "I – don't really care for all the attention."

           "O-kay," she said skeptically. Attention was the shit, if you asked Paulina. But if her rescuer preferred to keep a low profile (lame) then she'd have to find another way to show her gratitude. She could date him again…but that would make him popular. Paulina frowned, stumped at the quandary she found herself in.

           "Are you Daniel Fenton?" a gruff, masculine voice cut in, emphasis on the 'el' part of Danny's name.

           Danny turned to find himself face-to-chest hair with Paulina's dad. He gulped. "Yes?" he squeaked. He cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, sir, I am, sir."

           "My Pau told me what you did," he said, catching Danny up in a rib-cracking bear hug. "From now on, you are like a son to me, Daniel."

           He set Danny back down on his own two feet. Danny gulped in great lungfuls of precious oxygen. "Uh, thanks, but I've already got a dad," he said automatically. And a psychotic supervillain who wants to replace him, too.

           "It is an expression, mijo," Mr. Sánchez replied, looking at him funny. Oh yeah, normal people didn't have any reason to treat that phrase like a very literal threat. "I am sure your father is a great though quite confused man, to have sired a son such as yourself. I would never presume to be a substitute for one of his indubitably illustrious stature."

           "Thanks?"

           Mr. Sánchez then pulled a flyer out of his pocket. "Here, it is an invitation to a family gathering next month to celebrate Paulina's cousin's sister-in-law's younger brother's 18th birthday. The Sánchez family would be honored if you would assist."

           "Um, I don't know – "

           "Please, Daniel, you must come! If you do not my heart will break," he insisted.

           Danny looked to Paulina for help. Paulina glared back, promising misery should he disappoint her Papi, recent life-saving shenanigans notwithstanding.

           "I'll be there, sir."

           "Wonderful!"

***

Predictably, no one suspected anything but clumsiness on Danny's part being the culprit of his dramatic plunge into the lake, except maybe Mr. Lancer. Danny wasn't too worried about him though; Lancer'd been giving his retreating back the side-eye every time he ran to 'the bathroom' for the better part of three years now. Whatever he may or may not have surmised, the educator seemed content to keep it to himself. Still, there could be no more thoughtless acts of heroism; it didn't pay to be sloppy or careless when an entire special class of kook, best exemplified by your own parents, was gunning for you. (Which reminded him, he had weapons to confiscate/sabotage when he got home.)

           True to her word, Paulina toned down her story, letting people think she'd made it to shore on her own and Danny just happened to fall in after her. If she treated Casper High's star loser to a friendly wave or a couple of civil words now and then, people chalked it up to the shared near-death experience and subsequent emergence of Paulina's gentler, more human side. The side that promptly succumbed to her inner harpy whenever a girl who was not one of her friends came within ten feet of her.

           Sam and Tucker knew the truth of the matter, and Sam wasted no time admonishing Danny for his stupidity. "You can't go around jumping off of boats like it's the most natural thing in the world, Danny. People are going to start noticing," she hissed during lunch, the day after the boat accident.

           He'd thought as much himself, but to hear his best friend and sometimes girlfriend say it in _that_ tone grated at him. "I know, I'll be more careful from now on," he said, trying to reign in his irritation.

           "Good. I'd hate to see your secret blown over an airhead like Paulina."

           Tucker snickered. "You just used a form of the word 'blow' and Paulina in the same sentence. Not a good way to make a point when you're talking to a guy, Sam."

           Danny snorted into his lunch. Sam glared at both of them, picked up her tray and stalked towards the dirty dish window near the cafeteria exit. By the fourth and final period of the day, she'd cooled down. She smiled at Danny and was about to say something civil (presumably), but Paulina chose that exact moment to nudge Danny on the shoulder as she passed his desk. Sam turned around in her seat to face Lancer, fuming.

           Danny frowned at her back. Why did she have to do that? They were broken up right now (or as broken up as they ever got). If another girl wanted to flirt with him and he wanted to let her, Sam had no business making him feel guilty about it. Besides, Paulina wasn't serious about the flirting; it was just her way of showing gratitude.

           Well used to interpreting weird Danny-Sam undercurrents, Tucker predicted a storm coming and rather than try to weather it, he ditched them after class for the quieter but infinitely less awkward alternate route home. Danny wistfully thought of following him but, much as he _loved_ detours through Tech Depot, he had a feeling Sam wanted to talk. Danny braced himself as she opened her mouth.

           "What is it about Paulina?" she said, spitting out the name like it was scum off the bottom of a pond. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "Do you like her? Like, really like her?" she demanded.

           Danny looked at her through sad eyes. He hated it when Sam got like this, mostly because he knew it was his fault. Maybe if he'd tried harder to see her side of things, instead of meeting her nagging with his temper, making her cry time after time…"Sam, stop...caring so much about me. I'm not worth it," he said, voice suddenly hoarse.

           Sam blinked, her eyes unnaturally bright. "You're worth everything, Danny. Everything. I – "

           "Don't say it," he pleaded.

           She reached out a hand to his face. He vanished before the brush of her fingertips could set him adrift again.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the following weeks, Danny and Sam worked to settle back into their between-relationship standby of pre-Disasteroid camaraderie mixed with post-break-up fellow feeling. Every time they came back to it, though, it was a little harder to fit, as if they were trying to sit on a couch that got smaller and lumpier between uses. This time it had a particularly big lump named Paulina sticking up right in the middle.

           "You guys have plans for tomorrow?" Sam asked casually Friday afternoon.

           "No," said Tucker at the same time as Danny said, "Kind of." The pair shared an “oh shit” look.

           Sam's eyes darted back and forth between them. Danny thanked her silently when she didn't make a big deal out of it. "Well, if your plans fall through, you're both welcome to come over for some bowling or something."

           Danny muttered something noncommittally affirmative, and then took off for a lengthy, zealous patrol session. With luck the ghosts he caught today and early tomorrow would be so thoroughly intimidated that they'd spread the word far and wide in the Zone about Phantom being in no mood to mess around this weekend.

           Saturday evening came, and Danny drove to an unfamiliar part of town for the party, wearing a white button up shirt and black slacks, as per Jazz’s orders. He passed several small used car lots under lurid signs in Spanish, Mexican restaurants that smelled like caramelized onion heaven, and a number of small businesses only distinguishable from festively colored nearby houses by the signs planted in their yards. It was like a whole other country, but at the same time distinctly familiar touches – like the red, white and blue flags hanging off of porches, billboards featuring Casper High honor students and numerous local radio station bumper stickers edge-to-edge with Vikings emblems – grounded it firmly in Amity Park, USA.

           He missed his turn and had to double back, so fascinated by his surroundings was he. The party was at a former theater-turned-ballroom, a red brick building with a big white marquee crowning it, across the street from a line of antique stores and thrift shops. He parked in an odd single-row lot right smack in the middle of the street and crossed to a pair of doors under the marquee, which read "Happy Birthday, Oscar Ríos! We're so proud of you! – Familia Sánchez-Ríos-De la Garza-Ibañez"

           Despite being fifteen minutes late thanks to Exhausto, the insufferable ghost of traffic, Danny was one of the first to arrive. Loitering awkwardly in the entrance, he checked his invitation again but it still said dinner was at six. He took a couple of steps away from the door, towards a framed picture of a guy he vaguely recognized from school, next to a wooden stand with a guestbook lying open across the top. Beyond the picture and the bookstand, there was a long, rectangular room with two columns of evenly spaced, rectangular tables framing a dance floor and ending at a stage, where the DJ was setting up.

           "Daniel! Welcome! I'm so glad you could make it," said Mr. Sánchez, coming over to shake his hand enthusiastically. "Come, we will feed you."

           He steered Danny to the food table jammed into a corner of the ballroom and heaped brisket, potato salad and Mexican rice onto a disposable plate, crowning it all with two slices of bread wrapped in thin plastic. As the older man led him to one of the mostly empty tables, Danny noticed that his plate was about twice as loaded as anyone else's. "Here, sit," said Mr. Sánchez, gesturing imperiously at the seat across from Paulina. Paulina pinned him with that luminous smile of hers and he obeyed. Satisfied, Mr. Sánchez grunted and left the two alone.

           "My dad really likes you," Paulina commented, still smiling.

           "Yeah, I kinda figured that out at the hospital," said Danny.

           They made awkward small talk then, about the unpretentious but still classy décor of the ballroom, the merits (or rather lack thereof) of the warmed-over brisket, and the other party guests lined up to get food. Paulina knew everyone here and was blood related to fully half of them. Oscar Ríos, the cousin's sister-in-law's brother they were celebrating, stopped by to greet them, as did countless other relations. Paulina had a story about each, and when they left she'd tell it with all the relish of a true teen gossip queen. The stories gradually set Danny at ease, as Paulina had no doubt intended.

           About midway through dinner, some of Paulina's closest cousins joined them at their table. Yvette, another Sánchez beauty about a year older than them, shy Michael two years their junior, and Celeste, his twelve-year-old sister. Danny shook hands all around. At first the cousins made an effort to include him, asking him about school and how he knew Paulina. He was grateful for that, but he didn't hold it against them when the conversation veered off into inside jokes and “what's so-and-so doing now” territory. It gave him a chance to observe Paulina in her natural environment.

           With every passing moment, she relaxed a little bit more. She was still the uncontested queen bee, dominating the conversation with sharp, sometimes caustic observations, but she laughed too, loud and infectious, and sometimes she even said nice things, like when she complimented Yvette on her outfit. In fact, he realized that the longer she was around her family the less bratty and shallow she seemed. It was a puzzle. Why the snarling and posturing at school when she was perfectly capable of being a decent human being?

           The music started up at seven, the designated 'end' of the dinner hour, though latecomers were still lined up in front of the iced tea, just-served plates in hand. Danny didn't recognize any of the songs, or even many of the words that made up the songs, but most everyone else in the room seemed to know every single one. Sometimes he'd catch Paulina mouthing snatches of a chorus while her shoulders bounced to the joyful bleating of an accordion.

           As the third song (which seemed to consist entirely of the sounds 'bidi bidi bom bom' strung together to a wildly catchy tune) started up Yvette gasped and said, "I love this song! Come on, guys!" and hauled Michael out of his chair. "You coming, Pau?"

           Paulina shook her head, her lips tugging up at the corners, as they had been all evening. "No, I think I'll stay and keep Danny company."

           "You don't have to," Danny said when they were alone. "Really, I'll be fine by myself."

           "There's no fun in being alone, Danny," she said, completely matter of fact, as if the concept of enjoying the confines of one's own mind were alien to her. "This is a party. I want you to have a good time, since you're only here because of me."

           "I am having a good time," he answered. "And I can tell you want to dance. Go ahead, Paulina."

           "Well, I do want to dance…," she said. A vaguely predatory smile unfurled slowly across her face, like a cat stretching. "Come with me."

           "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea," he said hastily. He glanced at the dance floor, where most of the attendees, from the oldest great aunt to the youngest nephew, twirled with some sort of culturally and/or genetically inherited knowledge of how to move to a Selena song.

           "Why? Dancing's fun," she said and pouted at him.

           "Well, yeah, but – I don't know how to dance to this kind of music," he admitted, embarrassed.

           "Nobody 'knows' how to dance, silly. You just do it, you don't think about it. Come on," she insisted.

           And that's how Danny found himself being dragged out of his chair to an unoccupied patch of floor. They caught the tail end of "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom," with just enough time left for Danny to get over his apprehension and start to give himself over to the music, following Paulina's expert lead.

           "Not so bad, right?" she said in his ear.

           He smiled in answer and held his arm up for her to twirl. She did, surprising him by spinning three times instead of just the one. Seconds later, the song transitioned and Paulina seamlessly transitioned along with it into the new beat. Danny mirrored her as best he could. He was immensely proud of himself for not stepping on her foot even once.

           After several songs, Danny began to tire a little, luckily coinciding with a song Paulina didn’t like. "Let's get some air," she shouted.

           Danny nodded and followed her outside. The night was fresh, and while it hadn't been warm inside, the cool felt nice after all the movement. They leaned against the exterior wall of the ballroom, Danny’s slacks and Paulina’s close-fitting pink dress catching on the textured surface.

           "How do you like the party so far?" Paulina asked.

           "It's nice. I'm glad your dad asked me to come," he answered.

           "That's good," she said. "I'm glad he did too."

           They lapsed into a comfortable silence that even Paulina could appreciate. Looking at her under the white light of the marquee, smiling placidly up at the night sky, Danny wondered again why she was always wound so tight at school. "Can I ask you something?"

           "Sure," she answered. "But I get to ask you something after."

           Huh. He hadn't expected that. "Deal," he said. After all, he wasn't saying he'd answer, not that Danny Fenton had anything to hide. Not anything that the average Amity Park resident would think to ask anyway. "Why are you so different at school?"

           "What do you mean?" she asked, sweet as poisoned honey.

           "Well, you're just so much – _nicer,_ tonight, than I've ever seen you at school."

           "Are you saying I'm not nice?" she demanded.

           "Uh, well – "

           " – because you're totally right," she continued. "I'm not, and I know it." She looked down at the sidewalk, and Danny could practically feel her deciding whether to tell him more or not. "I don't like being alone, Danny. I learned a long time ago that if I didn't want to be alone, I had to be popular, and to be popular, I either had to be an angel or a bitch. We both know which one I chose.

           "You're not a – that," Danny said. He wished he hadn't said anything.

           "Yes, I am. But it's okay, because it actually comes natural to me. I kind of like being a bitch," she said, almost sheepish. "Especially to all the hangers-on who only want to be friends with me for their own benefit."

           Hearing her say that, Danny realized why none of her 'friends' had been invited to the party. All night, he'd assumed it was because this was a family event, but now he saw that Paulina must have deliberately excluded them. No wonder he hadn’t heard anyone talking about the upcoming party. They hadn’t known about it.

           "Anyways, I answered your question, now you answer mine," she said, shifting gears abruptly. "Are you and the Goth dating?"

           "Uh, n-no. But. Uh," he stammered, caught off guard by the question.

           Paulina raised an eyebrow.

           Danny sighed. "There's just – a lot of stuff between me and Sam. Stuff that's never going to be over," he tried to explain.

           "So you're not dating right now but you're getting back together?"

           "Uh, no? I don't know."

           "So you're free?"

           Danny closed his eyes and pictured Sam, testing. "No."

           "Oh."

           Danny looked over at her. To his surprise, he read mild dejection in her expression. "I'm sorry," he said without really knowing why.

           Her expression turned thoughtful. "No need," she said. For some reason it sounded suspiciously like a promise; a tendril of nerves snaked around his heart.

           He laughed his nervous laugh. "Hehe. Maybe we should get back inside?"

           "My thoughts exactly," said Paulina with an unnerving gleam in her eye.

           They intermittently danced and chilled at the table for another hour or so. After birthday cake, Danny checked his phone. "Hey, it's getting late," he said over the music. "I need to leave soon."

           Paulina nodded. "Okay. Dance with me until you go?" she half-shouted.

           "Okay," he agreed, pushing back his chair.

           The next two songs were "Boot-Scootin' Boogie" and "Good Time." It'd been a while since he'd line danced, but he picked it back up again easily enough with Paulina's help. They jostled each other on purpose and giggled about it throughout the second half of "Good Time," earning them dirty looks from those unfortunate enough to be near them. As the song ended, Paulina laughed, her eyes sparkling in the dim light.

           The music changed to a sultry guitar melody, and Danny checked his phone again. "Sorry, if I don't leave now I'm going to miss my curfew," he said.

           "Wait! Stay, just for this song. It's my favorite," Paulina said, her hand gripping his forearm. The nerves twined around his heart quivered fretfully. "Please, Danny?"

           "Okay."

           At first he wasn't sure how anyone could dance to such a slow song, but then the click of drumsticks kicked in and Paulina's hips snapped into a sensual roll, her hands resting lightly on Danny's shoulders. Tentatively, he began to move with her, drawn in by the sweet seductive longing of the melody. The chorus approached, the music crescendoed and Paulina pulled Danny a little closer with every cry of the trumpets. Captivated by the way her eyes caught the shifting light of the dance hall, he let her, tightening his arms around her waist until he couldn't differentiate between her warmth and his own, the words _eres secreto de amor_ reverberating in his ears and through his chest.

           Paulina's lips began to dance then, forming shapes in time with the beat and Danny was mesmerized by the way they puckered and trembled around the words, her teeth brilliant. He watched her intently, unable to look away.

           After the second iteration of the chorus, Paulina laid her head tenderly on Danny's shoulder, her forehead settling into the crook of his neck. He inhaled and the clean, coconut scent of her hair filled him up while the heat of her skin scorched his where they touched. They were barely moving now, swaying only enough to keep up appearances. Not fooled, nearby aunts and uncles smiled knowingly and kept an eye out for Mr. Sánchez, poised to redirect his attention should he wander too close to the pair.

           Far too soon, the song began to fade. Knowing they had only moments before the spell was broken, Paulina lifted her head and pressed her lips to Danny's, hot and insistent, coaxing his mouth to open for her and slipping an eternity into the last strains of the song. The soft fire of her kiss seared him inside, and when they came apart, breathing hard, the imprint of her lips stamped into his lingered like a bruise.

           Dazed, Danny trailed after her when she went to get something out of her purse. "Here," she said, handing him a tissue. Danny stared at it, uncomprehending. He was so dazzled by her smile, the brightest she'd worn all night, that he almost didn't even hear her. "For your lips," she explained. "You have to say goodnight to my dad, and I don't want him to kill you. I like you alive."


	3. Chapter 3

On the drive home, Danny thought of Paulina. And Sam. Lucky for his bumper, there weren't too many other cars on the road.

           He felt…sort of dirty. He told himself that he and Sam weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, so he hadn't cheated on her, but the feeling of having done wrong persisted into Sunday, reaffirmed every time he felt Sam's eyes on him. At the very least, he was guilty of lying by omission. He couldn't lie to Sam.

           "Something up, Danny?" she asked him as they waited for Tucker to join them at the park.

           "N – yeah. There's something I should probably tell you," Danny answered reluctantly. "Paulina's dad invited me to a party…and I went."

           Sam's face stayed studiedly calm. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

           "I didn't want to upset you."

           "And it's less upsetting to find out after the fact that my best friend went to a party with a girl I detest than it would have been for him to be up front with me," she said, tone deceptively even.

           "I'm sorry," Danny answered.

           They were both quiet for a while, until Sam sighed. "I've been thinking a lot about us these last few weeks, and I'm starting to realize just how much of me is caught up in you, in what you do and what you want. You know it's been eight months since the last time I volunteered at a lake clean-up?" she said. She took a deep, steadying breath. "I need some time to myself. So I'm applying for a bunch of out of state internships for the summer."

           Conflicting emotions swamped Danny. The idea of spending the summer without one of his two best friends, the absolute constants in his life, just did not compute. But…a tiny curl of relief refused to be buried under the consternation and dismay. Being out from under the pressure of will we or won't we would be good for both of them.

           "That's good," was all he could say.

***

Danny halfway dreaded seeing Paulina at school after the kiss, but she mercifully kept her distance, except for a soft smile now and then. But every time their eyes met, his lips seemed to ache with the memory of hers.

           Then suddenly it was summer and Sam was off saving the world one wetland at a time and Danny felt lighter than he had in years. It was so much easier to talk to her when she was herself. He spent a lot of time with Tucker, videochatting with Sam at least three times a week and messing around the rest of the time, doing stupid stuff that Sam would have refused to be party to.

           One afternoon, he happened to be by himself at the park, just sitting on one of the swings, when Paulina dropped into the swing next to his. "Hi Danny," she said, like it hadn't been weeks since they talked. Since they kissed.

           "Hey Paulina," he said, beating down the butterflies. "How's your summer going?"

           Paulina raised an eyebrow at him. "That's the best you could come up with after I shared my precious lips with you?"

           "Uh – "

           Whatever he had been about to say flew out his ears as she leaned around the rusty chain of her swing. With a mischievous laugh, she planted another kiss on him, this one lingering and fond. At first he fumbled, a little helpless, but before long he picked up the rhythm she wanted to set. When he did, she hummed a little and Danny felt it travel the length of his body and settle in to do some cartwheels in the pit of his stomach.

           "You taste like strawberries and whipped cream," he said dreamily, after.

           Paulina giggled. "Thanks."

           "Um, Paulina – "

           Shh," she said, touching his face lightly. She stood up. "See you around, Danny."

           And see her around he did, at the park, at the pool, at the mall, even in the Ghost Zone. The problem was she wasn't actually there most of the time.

***

"I think I'm going crazy," Danny said to Tucker a week after the second Incident, absently stashing Technus in the Fenton thermos. Late afternoon shadows stretched out behind them as they resumed their walk to Tucker's, the sun blazing summer bright up ahead.

           "You just figured that out?" said Tucker. At Danny's unimpressed look, he added, "Okay, so that one was a little weak. We can't all be experts at witty banter."

           "I keep seeing Paulina."

           "Where?" Tucker asked. His head whipped around, twice as alert as he ever was during ghost patrol.

           "Not here. Around," said Danny, gesturing vaguely in the direction of an overflowing dumpster.

           "Dude, I'm pretty sure Paulina's not in there, no matter how obsessed she is with you."

           Danny decided to skip the eye roll (that was more Sam's territory, after all) and get to the point. "She keeps kissing me, and it's driving me crazy," he vented.

           " _What?!_ "

           "Yeah, it's messing with my head – "

           "Hold up, I gotta collect on some bets. You have earned me enough cash to make some seriously sweet modifications to this baby, my friend," said Tucker, fiddling with his PDA.

           Danny's eyes narrowed. "Tucker, what are you talking about?"

           "You haven't heard? There's a long-standing bet on the forum about whether or not Paulina will ever manage to corner Phantom and make her move. All I have to do is post this juicy tidbit with my 'trusted source' account and then collect with my 'supergeek fanboy' account and I'm a rich man."

           "I hate to break it to you – well, not really, seeing as we are talking about _my_ _privacy_ , here – but she's not kissing Phantom. She's kissing Fenton," he said, and he couldn't quite keep a defiant note of pride out of his voice.

           Tucker's eyes got big and round, the size of his favorite XXXXXL cheeseburger at the Nasty Burger. "No way."

           "Yes, way. Twice now," he shot back.

           "But what about…you know, never mind. I am not opening that can of worms," Tucker said.

           "She knows. Well, sort of. Oh, wait, she only knows about the party…" said Danny. "How am I gonna tell her?"

           "Dude, can of worms?" Tucker said, in a tone that suggested he'd been deeply wronged by the opening of said can. But, like a true friend, he offered his advice nonetheless. "Listen, don't ruin her summer. Wait until she gets back to come clean."

           While Danny had to admit to himself that it wasn't the most honest course of action, it did have its merits. Mainly delaying nuclear winter. "I guess I have to think about it. But in the meantime, Tucker, do _not_ post anything about Paulina and Phantom and any kind of moves _anywhere_ on the Internet, or I'll tell Klemper you want to be his friend."

           Tucker shuddered. "Alright, man. Sheesh, you didn't have to bring out the big guns."

***

The next time Paulina hijacked his peace of mind, he was staring, utterly nonplussed, at a case full of avocados.

           Like any good boss, when Mom got too busy she delegated the tasks she didn't have time for, like grocery shopping. Too bad Danny didn't know the first thing about picking fruits and/or vegetables. He held up one of the bumpy black…things and stared at it as if it had grievously offended his honor. Challenged him to a duel with a flying glove and a 'defend yourself, knave!' or some such. In the middle of this ridiculous train of thought, Paulina slipped her hand in his free one and said, "I wouldn't take that if I were you."

           Danny jerked, startled, but Paulina's grip stayed firm. In fact, she only let up briefly to interlace their fingers, fingers that he noticed were rougher that he would have expected. Danny glanced around surreptitiously (or so he thought) to check for familiar faces.

           "Don't worry, there's no one from school here. I remember, about you not wanting to be popular," she said. She sounded a little proud of herself, as if remembering and subsequently acting on the remembering with consideration were a big step for her. Probably was.

           Danny tried to relax and found that it was much easier to do than he would have thought. "Which ones would you pick?" he asked.

           "Hmm." And he did some remembering of his own, remembered the way she hummed into his mouth at the park. In the space of a breath, his whole world narrowed to the hand in his, with its perplexing calluses, and the perplexing, whimsical, passionate girl it belonged to. It was unsettling, in the way that watching the sky fall away and the ground rush up at you _just_ before you pull up, hard, was unsettling. Very counterproductive to relaxation.

           She picked out some avocados, explaining why they were the good ones, but Danny missed it completely. "Danny, are you listening to me?" she asked playfully. She knew full well he wasn't.

           "Sorry. It's kind of hard to think when you're holding my hand," he said experimentally, testing the flirtation waters.

           A broad grin spread across her face. Challenge accepted, it said. "Imagine how hard it would be if I was holding something else," she said very deliberately.

           Danny stopped breathing.

           Paulina laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "You're so cute, Danny."

           And then she was turning the corner by the tomatoes and heading for the cereal aisle, leaving a thoroughly mugged Danny in her wake.

***

A couple days later, Danny saved Paulina from the clutches of a cosmetics ghost. He got a couple of nasty cuts from some flying eyeliner pens, but at least the marks they drew around his eyes weren't permanent (please, don't let them be permanent.)

           "Guyliner looks good on you," Paulina commented as he set her down in front of her house.

           "Please don't ever say that again," Danny answered. The concept was so upsetting that it leeched the tone out of his voice as he spoke so that the words came out far more deadpan than he intended.

           "Okay. Thanks for the rescue, Ghost Boy," she said, hugging him tightly. She turned to go.

           Danny, who was used to rather more attention than a measly hug, called out, "Hey, no goodnight kiss?"

           She smiled wickedly over her shoulder and tossed back the words like a shot, "I'm saving my goodnight kisses for a different Danny these days. Sorry, Ghost Boy."

           The goofy grin this elicited lasted all night and well into the next day.

***

"Paulina, wait – "

           "Shut up," she growled, and she scraped her teeth lightly down the side of his neck before fastening her lips on a spot just above the collar of his white t-shirt.

           "Ngh," Danny replied. His brain was all foggy. He tried to remember what he'd wanted to say. He had a feeling it was really important, but it kept slipping away under Paulina's assault. She had him backed up against a bookshelf in a little-visited corner of the Amity Park Library. The spines of books dug into his shoulders as her hands roved up and down the sides of his abdomen, underneath the cotton of his shirt, fingernails catching on skin and sending shivers up and down his body. Really, really good shivers.

           The thought came back. Damn. In a monumental display of restraint, he physically held Paulina at bay and said, "Paulina, wait."

           Paulina glared at him, breathing hard and pissed beyond reason. "What the hell, Danny?"

           "This – we're – too fast," he managed.

           "No, not too fast! We've been taking it slow for weeks! You're driving me crazy, Fenton!" she half-shrieked.

           Danny bit back a laugh that would probably earn him a knee in the groin if he let it out. It helped steady him enough to continue, "But we haven't talked. Don't you want to talk?"

           "No," she said, looking at him like he'd grown a third eye. Then her expression shifted to that predatory smile, and Danny was very, very afraid. Her voice dropped low and she held his gaze hostage. "What I want is to make you so hot the only word left in your vocabulary is my name."

           Danny went limp. Paulina took advantage of his moment of male weakness to cover his mouth with hers. "Th-that's not fair," said Danny when he managed to free himself again.

           "All's fair in love and war," she chirped sweetly. Danny wondered if even she knew which of the two this was. Somehow he got the feeling Paulina treated everything like war, going after anything she happened to want like a sparkly siege engine of doom.

           "I want to talk," he countered.

           Face falling into a sullen pout, she gave up trying to get her lips close to his person. "What?" she snapped expectantly.

           "Uh, how about we get some ice cream?" he said. He needed something to cool him down. They left the library, Danny knowing he'd never be able to go down that row again without feeling the ghost of her hands whisper across his chest.

***

When they got to the ice cream parlor, Paulina insisted that they share a milkshake (strawberry, of course). Taking a pull from his straw, Danny tried to ignore the way she licked a stray bit of whipped cream off the corner of her lips. She smirked at him across the table.

           "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked.

           Giving himself a mental shake for clarity, he answered, "This – what is this? What are we doing?"

           "We're having fun," she said immediately.

           "I got that part," Danny said. "But what's the endgame?"

           "No endgame. If you don't want to be popular, then we can't date publicly." She shrugged. "So we have fun."

           "You're okay with that?"

           "Duh."

           He thought of her dad, how much he loved his daughter and how he'd welcomed Danny into her life. He thought of her family and what she was like when she didn't feel like she had to hide the best of herself. Most of all he thought of the way her voice got small when she said, I don't like being alone. "I'm not."

           She looked at him, surprised.

           "I mean, we can date and not make a big deal out of it at school," Danny went on slowly, thinking of Sam. He didn't want to rock the boat with her, not now that she was finally getting back to herself. "But you deserve more than a summer fling and hiding out in janitor's closets. And I'm not the fling-y type anyway."

           Genuinely touched, Paulina smiled down at their milkshake. “You really think that?” she asked and he knew she meant the part about her deserving more from him.

           “Absolutely. So we’ll date? Talking and everything?”

           When she looked up again, her eyes shone in a way that said they’d crossed some indefinable line. He felt it inside too, and his heart quivered again, nervous but inexplicably pleased. “I’d like that,” she said.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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